The long version? This show has made me realize what a giant difference good writing and performances can make in a TV show, especially when other well-produced shows in the genre like LOST and Battlestar Galactica are at the top of their game. Not only does Heroes fall flat in creating any actual drama, but the performances are for the most part absolutely horrible. With the exception of Greg Grunberg, Hayden Panettiere and Jack Coleman, none of the actors manage to create three-dimensional, believable characters. Sure, it's often the case that actors can only do so much with the material they have, and that's where I think this series shows its true weaknesses.

Criss-crossing plotlines, multiple timeframes, amorphous character motivations, gimmicky storytelling devices. All these result in a show that's completely uneven from episode to episode and make for a sometimes confusing (but more often just annoying) tale of people who are constantly at odds with what their powers are and what they should do with them. Sounds like it should work, but something about Heroes just doesn't work for me. I can't think of another show that's taken so much time to do so little with character and plot development, much less take so many contrived and easy ways out of situations.

That's not to say that there aren't some good elements to the show, but in terms of how much signal-to-noise makes it to air each week, it's quickly becoming a losing battle for anything truly remarkable to happen. I've seen something in nearly every episode that I think could go in interesting directions, only to see things play out in clichés or cop-outs. It's just not fair to those viewers that are really willing to think about what they're watching, rather than just letting it pass before their eyes.

And yet, I don't understand the following that Heroes has found in television audiences. Then again, during its first season run, the NBC promotion machine was in full gear, calling on viewers to "check out more at NBC.com" and coming up with the worst taglines like "Save the cheerleader, save the world." I'd like to think that this isn't so much the case this season, but NBC has already done its share of ham-fisted marketing with things like "What's in the box?" and now, of all things, a semi-rehash of last season's climactic (or anti-climactic) resolution.

Argh... I don't get it. I can't help but think that this must just be a stopgap for viewers waiting for something better to hit the airwaves, but with networks turning out a slew of new shows this season (most of which have unsurprisingly been cancelled) and cable finding new original programming, why are people tuning in to this crap every week?